Chapter Six
The sunlight intruding through the windows caused Rory to wince. He pedaled his legs as though he were running in the woods, chasing after the sweet smell of fresh meat. His foot ached from the exertion of being run so ragged after years of ill-use. But he kept going. The chase was worth it.
That smell was so tantalizing. He had to have it. It was so close, he could smell it, he could taste it. In fact, it was right under his nose.
With his eyes still closed, he extended his tongue and tasted. He was met with warm, supple skin whose salty sweat was the sweetest thing he’d ever tasted in his life. Rory opened his eyes.
He was met with a golden brown shoulder. The slope of it allowed him to peer down to see a mound of breast. Crested at the tip of that breast was a priceless brown nugget that Rory knew first hand was delectable.
He’d thought Rhetta a closed off bitch with her tight bun and functional clothing. He’d been wrong. With that bun loosened, her hair was a riot of wild curls. With her clothing torn to tatters, inside was a caged she-cat that scratched back. Rory was in awe.
He looked down at her body and the evidence of the passion between them. His own body held the same evidence of bite marks and scratches and indents where she’d dug into his skin.
He was uncertain if at some point their wolves had come out to play? His was so near to the forefront now as he regarded his handiwork. Rory had kept the animal within on a tight leash for years, when in the past it had always been free to roam and play and hunt at will. This was the closest it had come out to play and it only waited for him to let his guard down so that he could ravage this luscious piece of meat that lay prone beside him.
Without warning, the beast took the controls. It buried its nose in Rhetta’s neck and took a long, languorous lick.
Rhetta shuddered and moaned in her sleep.
Rory’s wolf stiffened and readied to pounce.
She opened her eyes, turning to him. The curves of her body moving like waves rolling onto the shore.
Rory licked his chops. His hands found her breasts.
“Oh, my Goddess!” Rhetta gasped and arched as her gaze came into focus. She scrambled away from him, leaping from the bed. “What have I done? What have I done?”
She looked down at her nakedness. Then her hands traced the bites and bruises of her arms, her torso, her belly.
“What did you do?” She glared at him.
Rory lounged back on the bed taking in the view. She was breathtaking standing there naked as the sun shone a light on every one of her assets.
“I did exactly what I promised I would,” he said, lips spread into a wide grin. “I didn’t stop until I had my fill of you writhing beneath me.”
“You’re an animal.”
“Guilty as charged. And your voice is hoarse, as promised. Come back to bed, kitten, and we’ll see if we can’t make you mute this time.”
He reached out for her. She leaped out of his grasp. His wolf sat up with its tail in the air, ready to play.
“If you make me chase you, kitten, you won’t be sorry. But you will be sore when I inevitably catch you. I’ve got all day to play with you.”
Rhetta’s eyes widened. She whipped around to the window giving him a prime view of her perfect ass. There he saw more of his teeth marks on her left cheek. He’d have to be sure and make the twin orbs match this time.
“Oh, my Goddess, it’s daylight.”
Rory frowned at the panic in her voice.
She turned back around and began searching the floor frantically. “I have to get out of here.”
“You’re not going anywhere,” he said.
Rhetta ignored him. She reached for her skirt and tugged it on, covering up the ass he had plans to bite.
“Everyone will wonder where I’ve been. What will I tell them?” She pulled her torn shirt over her breasts.
“You’ll tell them you were with me.”
Now she looked up at him, eyes wide. “I can’t tell them that. I’m marrying your brother.”
Rory let out an ear-splitting laugh. She was hilarious, his little hellcat.
“What the hell is so funny?” she demanded.
“You’re not marrying my brother.”
“Yes, I am.”
“No, you’re not.”
“Yes. I am.”
“No. You. Are. Not.”
Rhetta threw up her hands. “I don’t have time to deal with you anymore.” She pulled her shoes on her feet as though she was really leaving. “I’ll just tell Jordan you wouldn’t see me. You won’t come to the wedding. The feud between you two will just have to continue.”
“No,” said Rory. “I’ll tell him exactly what happened.”
“Why would you do that?”
She was pretty much fully dressed with both shoes on, her skirt twisted about her torso, and her blouse hanging off one of her shoulders. She held the two sides of the shirt closed because the buttons were torn off. She looked lush, beautiful, and completely bitable.
Rory swung his legs over the bed. His bum foot hit the floor awkwardly and he winced.
Rhetta’s eyes dropped to his foot. He’d never let anyone see his deformity before, but he had nothing to hide from this woman. He let her look her fill, and when she finally met his eyes again, he answered her question.
“Because I’m in love with you.”
Rhetta frowned. Then she glared. Rory heard a crack split the air, then he felt the sting on his face. He blinked just in time for Rhetta to slap him again.
“Snap out of it!” She marched past him out of the room.
Rory licked at the blood pooling where she’d split his lip. He smiled at the metallic tint, then he followed her out. “Don’t run away from me, Rhetta.”
She shoved into her coat and began buttoning the garment over her open blouse. “You said this was all about revenge for you. Do you think I believe for one second you feel anything for me? It’s bad luck. It always finds me.”
“It is luck, kitten. It’s just not bad.”
“Call me kitten one more time and I’ll…” She raised her hand for a strike, but when she saw Rory’s anticipating smirk, she balled her hand into a fist and marched toward the door.
Rory sprinted across the room faster than he’d moved in years. He slammed the door shut just as she’d gotten it opened.
“Get out of my way,” she growled.
“You can’t leave.” He boxed her in. “We have to talk about this.”
“There’s nothing to talk about. I’m marrying your brother.”
“I can’t let you do that, ki—”
Her eyes shot daggers as her lips pursed. Rory ached to bite that lip, but he couldn’t. Not yet.
“I can’t let you do that, Rhetta. I can’t let you ruin your life by mating my brother.”
“You don’t even know me.”
He shrugged at the minor detail. “Not yet, but I will.”
“No, you won’t. This is the last time you’ll see me.” She reached for the doorknob again and twisted, but he slammed it shut before she could wrench it open.
He boxed her in again. She shut her eyes and blew out a huff. She could’ve scratched at him. She could’ve kneed him in the groin, any number of things. But she stayed in the cage he’d placed her in. Rory inhaled the scent of the woman his soul told him was his. He decided to take a different tactic with her.
“Listen, bunny—”
Rhetta’s eyes slammed open and glared at him.
“You don’t like bunnies either? Listen, I can see you’re emotional right now. That often happens to a woman after she’s been fucked properly. You wouldn’t know that since—”
Crack!
This time she hit him with a closed fist, and it knocked him back on his ass. She glared down at him. Then she wrenched the door open with a growl and disappeared out of it.
Rory tasted more blood. He could only chuckle at the door as it reverberated from her assault. If she wanted to play that way it was fine with him. He’d give her time for a head start. Only a small one, because the hunt was on.